Monday, December 13, 2010

A movie star on the subway

I talked to a movie star today. Or at least as close as we can get to a movie star in Norway ... there aren't really enough jobs available for someone to become a big star in movies alone, they rather make their names as actors, and work in theater, TV, movies, all kinds of things. But again, as close as we can get to a movie star, that's what this guy is.

I was waiting for the subway at Risløkka station this afternoon when he came up to me and asked me what I have to say was a really stupid public transport-related question. He wanted to know, when the board said the next train would be line 5 to Storo, did that mean you couldn't get to the city center on that train? Yes, that was his question. He wanted to know ... did it circle around downtown, or something. What? I said no, when it says Storo it means that it goes through the city center to Storo, when it says Parliament it only goes to Parliament station. So, still to the center of the city, just not through it and further westwards on the other side. Oh, thank you so much.

OK, here's the thing: Every subway train in Oslo goes through the city center. Depending on direction, of course, but if you've got the wrong direction then it will usually just turn around at the final station and go back. And if the realtime board says that in eight minutes there will be a train at your platform for Parliament station, then you can be pretty sure that you've got the right direction. So ... every subway train goes through the city center. Who doesn't know that?? Where did he think he was, London, New York? Seriously, this is Oslo. There really aren't a lot of places for those trains to go. If you're in the Grorud valley, and the train goes to Storo ... where the hell do you think it's going to go? o_O

The annoying thing about this - yes, I'm getting to the annoying thing now! ;-) - is that I don't remember the guy's name. It's been eluding me all day since I talked to him. I know that face so well - every Norwegian reading this knows that face - but I can't bring the name to mind. Someone tell me ... he's a hugely famous actor, he's that guy who is in every Norwegian movie ever made whose name is Bjørn, but is not Bjørn Sundquist and not Bjørn Skagestad.* Someone help, who is he?

While you're thinking, here's another movie star on the subway whose name I have no difficulty bringing to mind.

* I don't mean by this that Bjørn Skagestad is in every Norwegian movie ever made. That's Sundquist and the other guy. :-) But he's also really famous and his name is Bjørn, so I wanted to narrow it down for you. :-)

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About Me

I'm 36 years old. I live in Oslo, the capital of Norway. I love chocolate. I keep freshwater turtles. I like to travel and to see new places. I like to play board games and card games. I'm a big fan of Keanu Reeves, ElfQuest, The Phantom of the Opera, and the even more fantastic opera musical Which Witch. The highlight of my year is the Eurovision Song Contest. I love movies. My all-time favorite movie is Gone with the Wind. I LOVE to read. My favorite author is Terry Pratchett. My favorite book is The Count of Monte Christo.

A note on language

I write mostly in English on this blog. Whatever is written in Norwegian is something that either deals with situations, persons & phenomena specific to Norway, or is contigent on the reader understanding the Norwegian language in order to get the point.